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It is blockbuster superhero movie season, and a sequel to a proven hit wrapped last month.

In July, 21 girls from the Lehigh Valley and beyond gathered at Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter, Marcon Boulevard, Allentown, to participate in the second Let’s Build Camp, a weeklong program for young women/superheroes interested in architecture, engineering, construction, building and the construction trades.

Among many skills, campers learned to frame a wall, replace windows, make bricks, install siding and shingle roofs.

As the rain continued to fall Friday night and our local waterways rose ever higher, emergency personnel sounded the alarm, alerting residents a flash flood warning was in effect.

Cue the thunder, lightning and blinding downpours.

All phones in my house began to blare with the emergency notification, a signal not easily ignored. Police and fire departments posted messages on social media to tell residents of road closings due to creeks and streams spilling over their banks.

In the Lehigh Valley, 3-plus inches of rain had fallen from noon Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday.

Beer lovers around the world are looking forward to a different kind of holiday. International Beer Day (IBD) will be celebrated Aug. 3 this year.

According to the official International Beer Day website, this event has taken place the first Friday in August since its inception in 2007 and is celebrated globally in 200 cities across 80 countries and six continents. The day is intended to “unite the world through beer.”

This letter is in response to a Northampton Press article in the July 26 edition titled “Council discusses options regarding fireworks laws.”

I voted against Act 43 of 2017, which expanded the types of fireworks Pennsylvania residents could purchase and use. The article implied I voted for the law, which is not correct.

While this law contained several new tax provisions, one of the main reasons I opposed it was due to the fireworks expansion. My office has heard from numerous constituents on this issue in the past several weeks.

Over the years, I have written about how my three (now adult) children have vacillated between thinking their parents are bumbling idiots to believing that we are seers full of enlightenment and wisdom. As I move from being the parent to the consultant/coach for our youngest child, my ideas or suggestions are often met with “Yes, mother! I know that, mother!” Clearly, we are currently in bumbling idiot mode.

National and local news reports over the last several weeks have focused on efforts by environmentalists to ban plastic straws, which endanger marine life once they make their way to the oceans and apparently live on forever in landfills.

McDonald’s began the movement, announcing June 4 that biodegradable paper straws would be used throughout the United Kingdom by 2019.

The company also said it would begin testing plastic straw alternatives in the United States later this year.

McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook spoke with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” in early June.

I am so grateful for the kindness and support received from so many faith-based organizations, residents and businesses that are helping make our second year of the Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative’s free summer breakfast camp for Whitehall and Coplay school-age residents such a success! The kids are having a blast, and we hope more people will come out since we do so much more than provide a hot and cold breakfast.